Usutu, interjection and & plural noun

/ʊˈsʊːtʊ//uˈsuːtu/
Forms:
Also Usuthu, Usuto, and with small initial.
Origin:
IsiZuluShow more IsiZulu uSuthu the Zulu Royal House; see 1982 quotation at sense B.
The name of the Zulu royal clan.
‖A. interjection Used among Zulu people as a battle-cry.
1879 S. Turner in D. Child Portrait of Pioneer (1980) 97I was out looking for some lost horses, and heard the Zulu war-cry ‘Usutu!’
1893 J.F. Ingram Story of Gold ConcessionWhen all were placed, we got the word to charge, which we did, yelling ‘Usutu!’
1913 L. Lyster Ballads of Veld-Land 79Hark to the fierce ‘Usutu!’ Death comes with that dread shout.
1923 G.H. Nicholls Bayete! 171Then from all round came the hoarse war-cry: ‘Usutu! Usutu! Usutu!’
1937 C. Birkby Zulu Journey 75Usibepu’s Men of Great Might were a little too much for Cetywayo’s warriors, even though they stormed down with their old war-cry ‘U-su-tu!’
1967 E.M. Slatter My Leaves Are Green 106They ran towards us, plumes waving, assegais rattling on their shields, leaping into the air and screaming their war-cry — ‘Usutu! Usutu!’
1973 Time 19 Feb. 15A crowd of 200 was dispersed by police with tear gas after the demonstrators had brandished clubs and chanted ‘Usutu!’, a traditional Zulu war cry.
1985 Weekly Mail 16 Aug. 9On Friday they saw an angry mob of about 300 ‘impi’ shouting ‘usuthu’, an old tribal warcry meaning power.
1993 G. McIntosh in Sunday Times 20 June 23Many slogans are exclusive. The cry of ‘Amathembu’ will be supported by Transkeian Xhosas; ‘Kom Boere’ by Afrikaners and ‘Usuthu’ by Zulu warriors.
B. plural noun Also Usuthus, Usutus. Those associated with the Zulu royal house. Also attributive.
1904 H.A. Bryden Hist. of S. Afr. 197The Usutus — the King’s party — were attacked by two powerful chiefs.
1926 M. Nathan S. Afr. from Within 37The adherents of Cetewayo, the Usuto.
1937 C. Birkby Zulu Journey 75The usutu turned round and fled.
1949 J. Mockford Golden Land 203Installed as Chief of the Usutu section of the Zulu people in August 1948, when he was twenty-five and owned two wives.
1961 T.V. Bulpin White Whirlwind 79Cetshwayo’s personal following were traditionally known as the Usuto.
1961 T.V. Bulpin White Whirlwind 97The Usutu faction showed signs of resuming their active hostility as soon as the crops had been reaped and men were free to fight and travel on the dry earth.
1982 Pace 16 JuneThe Usutu are the traditional royal clan of the Zulu. It’s very interesting to learn where the name came from. Apparently Cetshwayo, in his younger days, raided across the Drakensberg and came back with some Sotho cattle. The Zulu cattle were very small, but these were huge things which had been bred by the Basotho, so the clan became known as the Usutu.
1983 Pace Dec. 48It was...the year of Inkatha and the year of Usutu. But most of all it was the year of Gatsha Buthelezi.
The name of the Zulu royal clan.
Used among Zulu people as a battle-cry.
Also Usuthus, Usutus.Those associated with the Zulu royal house. Also attributive.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

18791993

Browse Related Words

By Category

War and Instability
Peoples

By Origin

IsiZulu

By Usage

slogans
Useless Boys’ Club, noun phrasen. phr.UWC, nounn.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English